Motor-vehicle.



H. H. MARKER. MoToR VEHICLE.

APPLICATION FILED APRA. 1914.

llean-.embeQi Apr. 20, 1915.

y' iinrrnn erairne rairnnr orribile.

HENRY H. Maanen., or MOUNFL1 oLniviENs, MICHIGAN, AssiGNoR 'rorULL-MOREQMOTOR TRUCK COMPANY, or DETROIT, iviiCHiGAN, A CORPORATIONori/LAINE..

MOTOR-VEHIOLE.

Specification of Letters Patent. Pai-,Qntd APTLQU" j9i15 Applicationfiled Aprilfl, 1914. Serial No. 829,430.

T0 all whom 'it may concern y Be it known that I, HENRY H. MARKER,

a citizen of the United States of America,-

residing at Mount Clemens, in the county of 'Wayne and State ofMichigan, lia-vein-v vented certain new and useful Improvements inMotor-'Tehicles, oi'- which the following is a'speciication, referencebeing had therein to the accompanying drawings.

This invention relates to motor vehicles, and its Objectis to provide asimple construction and arrangement of parts whereby ing' supported by apair Ofltraction wheels and turnable upon a connecting member extendingbeneath the body and'vforming therewith a power tractor.

1t is also an object of the invention-to provide certain other new anduseful feay tures in'the construction and arrangement of parts all ashereinafter more fully described, reference being had to theaccompanying drawings in which,

'Figure 1 is a side elevation of a tractor embodying the invention andshowing the saineattached to a carrying truck; Fig. 2 is an enlargedlongitudinal vertical section through the tractor; Fig. 3 is a plan viewof the same with parts broken away and' in section to show theconstruction; Fig. 4 is a transverse section substantially on the line:rl-mot Fig. 3; Fig. 5 is a similar section substantially upon the line3/--y of Fig. 3 and illustrating the manner in which the body, isplaced; and Fig. 6 is a sectional detail of a reach shoe.

As shown in Fig. 1, the tractor embodying the invention is attached .toa suitable carrying truck by means of a reach 1 attached to the truckbody and .extending beneath the body '2 of the tractor, but it will beunderstood that the tractor may be connectedto any vehicle or implementby means of the reach or said reach may be provided with a suitabletrailing or supporting wheel i Aor wheels to support the rear end of thereach and maintain the body of the tractor in a horizontal position.

Pivotally attached to the sides of the body y 2 upon trunnions 3 carriedthereby, are suitable elliptical springs l which are clippedir-otherwise secured. to a iixed or nonrotatable axle 5 extending acrossbeneath the body and having traction wheels 6 rotatively mounted thereonto turn freely independently of each other.

The body 2 of the tractor comprises a main body member which ispreferably a casting of the desired dimensions, and a top or platformmember 7 which forms a cover'for the lbody and is hinged thereto at oneside by means of ears- 8 on the cover 7 to engage between pairs of likeears 9 on the body, said ears having openings to receivepivot pins. Atthe opposite side, the

cover 7 is provided with lugs 10 adapted to be engaged by suitable yokes11 pivotally `attached to the body and adapted to be turned intoengagement with the lugs to detachably secure the cover in closedposition. At the longitudinal center line of the bottom of the body, isformed a circular opening 12 to receive a flanged disk or plate 13 whichlits within the opening to turn freely therein and is provided with apair of downwardly extending ears 14 forming bearings for a shaft 15.The reach 1 coinprises a pair of parallel spaced bars whicharerect-angular in cross section with their width extending vertically,and securely 'bolted between these bars is a bearing block l 16 havingbearings for'tlie shaft 15 which extends longitudinally oi the reach inthe vertical plane of the center line thereof. The body 2 is thereforepivotally connected to the reach to turn about the vertical axis of thedisk 13 which forms a pivot for the 'front axle in the nature of a fifthwheel, and

the body is `also pivotally connected to the reach by means oi' theshaft 15, to tilt upon an axis extending longitudinally of the reach. vl

As the tractor body 2 is supported by the traction wheels 6 by means oithe springs 4, it is necessary to provide means for pre- `.jenting thebody from tilting or turning upon the axis oi the wheels longitudinallyof the reach and the reach is therefore provided with bearing shoes 17vand 18 positioned upon the reach at a distance rearwardly and forwardlyof the axis of the ifth wheel or plate 13 to engage the bottom.

and 18 is preferably formedw diamond'shaped plan view with itspointedends extending longitudinally of the path of travel of the shoein contact'with thebody so that any accumulation of dirt or grease uponthe body in said path will be removed 'or pushed aside by the' shoe' in`its travel in either di-` rection. Each shoe is pivotally supported yupon a suitable bearing block 19 see Fig.

6) locatedbetween the parallel bars'of the reach and this block is madevertically adljustable by means of a-set screw 20 engaging its lowerside and carried by a spacing block 21 secured between the reach bars.

By means of the set .screws'the shoes may.

be adjusted. into4 contact with the-tractor body'and any lost motioncaused by wear is Vtaken up and all tilting of the body longitudinallyof the-reach prevented. The engagement of the shoes with the under sideof the body also serves to hold the memberv 13 firmly seated within itsopening.` v r The circular member 13 forming the fifth wheel is providedwith a-Iaterally extendingarm 22 the free end of which iscon- .nected bya link to a traveling nut 424 v u'pon a screw shaft 25, said'nut beingguided y in its movement by suitable guides 26 and the screw shaft beingactuated in any suitable manner as by a sprocket-chain 27 engaging asprocket wheel on the shaft to vtransmit motion thereto from' a counter4shaft 28 carried by the top or cover 7 of the body.

As shown 29 are bolted directly to the cover 7, said cover forming theuppeil half of the crank case ofthe engine, and this cover is proa videdwith suitable bearings 30 for the crank shaft 31 of the engine. Motionis transmitted from the crank shaft 3l by means of a sprocket on theshaft engaged by' a sprocket chain 32, to a shaft 33 in longitudinalalinement .with the shaft 28 and 4suitable controlling mechanism withinla casing indicated at 34 in Fig. 4'is provided to control thetransmission of motion from the shaft 33t() the shaft 28, said mechanismbevto ing of any suitable form and construction. While power means 1sindicated herein as applied to the arm 22 for steering the tractor, itwill be understood that any suitable means may be employed for actuatingthe arm, and the power means shown illustrate but one of manyconstructions which may be used, this particular construction bemeansmounted upon the body, will turn said body about the vertical axis ofthe member 13 and the traction wheels of the 49 on the shafts.

from the sprockets' 48 which are provided' in Fig. 2, the enginecylinders in Fig.. 2, of a common and wellknownconstruction. Power istransmitted in the usual manner from the sliding gear mechanism to ajack shaft comprising two independent longitudinally alined shafts 40and 41 mounted in bearings 42 on the cover 7 which bearings also form asupport for the usual form of differential mechanism indicated at 43,inFig .3, and the usual large beveled gear 44 which is engaged by a.pinion 45 on ythe end of a longitudinal shaft 46 which is ydriven bv4the sliding gear transmission mechanism 39.

Suitable bearings 47 are provided upon the sides of the body 2 for theouter ends of1 the shafts 40 and 41 and these bearings also supportsprocket wheels 48 which are provided With suitable notchestoreceive'lugs Motion is transmitted with suitable notches to receivelugs 49 on the shafts. Motion is transmitted from the sprockets 48 tolarge driving sprockets on the traction wheels 6 by means of sprocketchains 50 and radius rods 51 'are rotatively mounted at one end upon thebearings 47 to turn freely thereon and are connected at their oppositeends to the axle 5 upon which the traction wheelsl are mounted.

The inner endsof the two shafts 40 and 41 which are constructed andarranged in a manner similar to that employed in the constructionof therear axles of motor vehicles, ari :arried by the cover 7 and the outerends .of these shafts are supported in the bearings on the. fixed lowerpart or body 2. As commonly 1'- rovided in the usual axle constructionthese shafts 40 and 41 are formed at their inner ends with angularportions 52 to engage the. gears of the differential 43 and so mountedthat they may be pulled out 'endwise from engagement with thedifferential mechanism through the hub of the Wheel in the axleconstruction or as in this construction through 'the bearing 47 thebod-yles lit and out of en agement with the sprocket wheels 48. By thuspulling out the two shafts 40 and 41 they are disengaged` fromthediiferential mechanism which is carried by the cover 7 to permit theAcover to be raised, the same turning upon its hinges 8. Any suitablemeans (not shown) may be provided also for disconnecting the shafts 25and 28 so that the `steering mechanism carried by the cover will bedisconnected from the parts carried by the body 2 to permit the cover tobe turned upon its hinges.

To turn the cover 7 upon its hinges as illustrated in Fig. l, so that`ready access may be had Ato the crank shaft and other parts of theengine and to the clutch change speed and differential mechanisms, ahori zontally disposed shaft 53 is mounted in suitable bearings in thebottom ofthe body# 2 with one end projecting through. the rear end wallof the body. A suitable hand crank 54 is secured to the outer end ofthis shaft and upon its inner end is a beveled gear 55 in mesh with alike gear upon 4the lower end of an upwardly extending screwA .threadedshaft 56 which engages a nut 57 carried by a suitable bracket 58 uponthe cover 7. The nut 5,7 is pivotally mounted in, the `bracket 58 to-turn thereon and the shaft4 56 extends upward through an opening in thecover.4 The lower end of the shaft 56 is mounted in a lbearing ypke 59pivotally supported and carried by'the shaft 53 so that it is free toswing about the-longitudinal axis of said shaft and permit the shaft 56to move'laterally asthe cover is raised by the turning of the screwshaft inengage- 1 vment with the nut carriedby the cover. In

this construction the body creasing 2'serves as the lower half of acasing for the 'crank shaft of the motor, the fly wheel, the changespeed mechanism, and the 4counter shaft and its differential mechanism.f It isadapted to. contain oil for' lubricating the parts and to preventthis oil from escaping through. the joint between the body and cover,said cover is provided with a downwardly extending flange 60, along itssidev ,and end edges adjacent to the side and end walls of the body toproject downwardly into the body and prevent the splashing oil withinandsupported upon abody in a very compact and convenient,arrangement.

This arrangement also makes itpossible t0.v

mount the entire power plantk and driving mechanism upon the vtwotraction wheels which are positioned near the .front end of the tractorand are driven by the power plant mounted thereon to draw the load towhich' the tractor is attached instead of pushing the load as in thelusual construction of motor trucks where the power is applied to therear wheels of the vehicle. Obviously any suitable member may beemployed tovform the reach extending beneath the ibodymof'` the tractorand other changes may be made inthe details offconstruction andarrangement of parts 'without departing from the spirit. oflmyinvention. 4I therefore do not' limit myself tothe particular form'or construction shown.` Havingthus fully described my inventio whatI'claim is :-v f 1. In a machine of the character described, thecombination of a lower casing member forming a fixed support, an uppercasing member pivotally connected to the lower member at one side, acylinder secured to the upper member, bearings on the upper member, acrank shaft in said bearings, a piston in the cylinder connected to thecrank shaft, and means fordetachably lsecuring the upper member to thelower member at the side thereof opposite that at which said uppermember is pivotally connected toA the lower member, whereby this upperme'mber may be turned upon the lower member to expose the working partsof the motor.

2. In a machine of the character de scribed, thefcombination of an uppercasing member, a motor secured to and supported by said member, meanscarried by said member for transmitting motion from the motor, a lowercasing member forming a fixed support for the upper casing member, meansfor detachably connecting the casing members, and means carried by thelower casing member for transmitting mo tion adapted to be connected toand disconnected from the motion transmitting means carried by the uppercasing member.

3. In a machine of vthe character described, the combination of a lowercasing member forming a fixed support, a cover member detachablyconnected to the lower member and having an extended upper surlfaceforming a motor support, a motor se cured to lsaid cover member, powertransmitting mechanism carried 4by said cover, means carried by thelower member for transmitting motion, said lower casing member and covertogether forming a crank case for the motor and a casing for thc `powertransmitting mechanism, and means for detachab-ly connectingsaidmechanism and the motion transmitting means carried by the lowermember.

In a machine of the character described, the combination of a supportingcasing, a cover pivotally connected at one side to the casing, andhaving an extended in )per surface forming a platform'and a surface uponwhich engine cylinders are adapted to be' secured, bearings upon thecover extending downwardjnto the casing, a crank shaftf'in` saidbearings, cylinders secured to the cover,` pistons in the cylindersconnected to .the

crank shaft, power transmitting mechanism ico ing body, means fortransmitting motion from the jack shaft to the traction wheels@ a coveruponthe casing body Ahaving an ex" tended upper surface forming aplatform, a vmotor carried by the cover, .change speed powertransmitting mechanism carried by the cover adjacent to the platformportion thereof, a differential mechanism carried by the cover totransmit motion from the change' speed mechanism to the jack shaft, saidjack shaft being adapted to be disconnected from neath the body andpivotally attached there toto permit the body toturn thereon about avertical axis, members supported by the member extending beneath thebody. and adapted to be adjusted into engagement with the lower sideofthe body to prevent the body from tilting upon the horizontal axis ofthe wheels, and steering means carried by the body for turning the bodyabout said vertical axis.

9. In a tractor, the combination with traction wheels and an axletherefor, offa casing-'body,-springs secured' to the axle and.supporting the body, a reach extending beneath the body, aifth wheelattached to the reach and body to 'permit the body to turn about thevertical axis ofltheziifth'wheel,

' said afiawheel'b'eing attached tonie reach said mechanism to permitthe cover to be 6. In a tractor, the combination'with trac-l tion wheelsandan axletherefor, of a body -casing snpported'by theaxle and movabletherewith, a fifth wheel upon the vertical axis ofwhich Athe axle andbody are adapted A to turn, a member extending beneath the body andconnectedto the fifth wheel to prevent the body from tiltinglongitudinally,

. a' `motor carried by the casing body, a

drivers serton the casing body rearwardly ofthe motor,`means within thecasing body fori ytransmitting motion' from the motor,` landmeansexteriorly of the body for transmitting motion tion wheels.'

from said means to the trac- 7 In a tractor, the combination withtraction wheels and an axle therefor, of a casingv body, springs securedto the axle and sup-` porting the body, a member extending beneath thebody' to preventtilting thereof .upon the horizontal axis of thetraction wheels, `a fifth-wheel connecting said mem' berA and. body topermit the axle and body to 'turn about a vertical axis, a cover for thecasing body detachably secured thereto, a motor on the cover having acrank shaft supported bythe cover within' the casing body, changespeedpower transmitting mechanism on the cover within the body,diiferential mechanism on the cover .adapted to receive motion from-saidmechanism, a jack shaft extending transversely of. and supported inbearings on the casing body and comprlsingl two parts detachably engagedwiththe differential mechanism, and means for-transmitting motion fromthe-outerends 'of the jack shaft to the traction wheels. v

1 8. In a tractor, the combination with traction wheels and an axletherefor, of a caslng body, springs secured to the axle and supportingthe body, a member extending bewinnaar intermediate the-endsthereof','and 'slices care ried by the reach to engage the underside ofthe body at opposite sides of the fifth wheel. l0; In a,tractor, thecombination with a pair of traction wheels and a fixed axle therefor, ofa casing body, springs secured to said axle and pivotally attached tosaid body, aI reach member extending beneath the body, a fifth Awheelconnecting -said reach wheels to turn about the vertical axis of the-fth wheel, means carried by the reach for 'preventing the bodyfromturning about the horizontal axis of the traction wheels, a motorcarried by the body,'a shaft extending across the body, means fortransmitting motion from the motor to-said shaft, means for transmittingmotion from the ends of said shaft to the traction Wheels, and distancerods pivotally. connected to theends of said axle and tothe body offsaidshaft.

11.v In a tractor, the combinationI with vtraction wheels and an axletherefor, of a casing body supported by said axle, a cover for saidcasing body detachably attached thereto, a motor carried by said cover,bear-l ings. on the sides of said body, a shaft 'com` rprising two partseach longitudinally movable through its` bearing on said bodymo- `tiontransmitting means carried by said cover and with whiclnthe inner endsof said shaft parts are adapted to be'engaged, and means fortransmitting motion from the outer ends ofthe shaft parts to thetraction wheels.

12. In a machine of the character described,

the combinationof a casing body -adaptedto contain a lubricant, a coverlon. said body pivotally connected thereto at one side, anv

engine cylinder secured to the cover, bearings on the cover extendingdownward into the casing body, a crank shaft in said bearings, a pistonin the cylinder connected to the crank shaft, means carried by the coverto. turn about the axis .and body to permit the body and traction 4fortransmitting motion from the crank v shaft, and a langeon the coverextending downward into the body -adjacent to the side and end walls ofsaid body.

13. In a machine of the character described, the combination of alcasingbody, a cover pivotallv connected to the body, a motor mounted `on thecover, motion transmitting means carried by the cover, means inthe bodyengaging the cover and provided with an actuating shaft extendingoutside the body for turning the cover upon its pivotal connection withthe body.

14. In a machine of the character described, the combination of a casingbody, a cover hinge connected to one side of the body, means fordetachably securing the opposite side of the cover to thebody, enginecylinders secured to said cover, said'cover having an vextended uppersurface at the rear of said cylinders' forming a platform, a seaty onthe cover adjacent to the said platform surface, bearings on the coverextending downward into the body, a crank shaft mounted in saidbearings, pistons in the cylinders connected to said crank shaft,bearings on opposite sides of `the body, a trans' verse shaft mounted insaid bearings and comprising two parts removable longitudinally throughsaid bearings, differential mechanism mounted on the cover and adaptedto be engaged by the inner ends of the shaft parts, and change speedpower transmitting mechanism carried by the cover and' a pted totransmit motion from' the engine crank shaft to said differentialmechanism.

15. In a tractor, the'combinationof a pair of traction wheels, a xedaxle for said Wheels a casing body springs for sup orting theJ bodysecured to the axle and lpiiivotally attached to the sides of .the body,bearings extending laterally from the body ad.

opposite ends, sprocket wheels on the outer ends of said shaft, chainsengaging said wheels for transmitting motion therefrom to the tractionwheels, a reach member extending beneath the body, the body beingvprovided with a circular opening above the reaoh,a Hanged memberrotatable in said opening about a vertical' axis and pivotally connectedto said reach toturn upon an axis extending longitudinally of saidvreach and transversely of said axle, and shoes on said reach to engagethe under side of the body at points forwardly and rearwardly'of thesaid opening therein. e

l In testimony whereof I aflix m-y signature in presence of twowitnesses.

HENRY H. MARKER.

` Witnessesi LEWIS E. FLANDERS, ANNA M. Donn.

